I have heard several things about the "No-Poo" hair cleansing method. Some were good, while others weren't so great. In my opinion the best way to test a theory is to try it yourself, so that is what I'm going to do!
What is the "No Poo" hair cleansing method ?
The "no poo" method is simply eliminating typical shampoo from your beauty routine. No,no I'm not telling you to stop cleaning your hair! With this method you replace the shampoo with natural ingredients. These will include : baking soda and vinegar for the basics. For normal to dry hair you will use apple cider vinegar and for normal to oily hair white vinegar. For deep conditioning I plan to continue my coconut oil method, which I will explain later.
Why "No Poo" hair ?
Typical shampoo contains harsh chemicals. These range from your cheap drugstore brands all the way to the expensive salon brands. Shampoos contain additives such as sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate.In addition many contain silicone. These will all damage and strip hair causing breakage and hair to have excess buildup leaving hair weighed down. Your conditioners are the same way. WHo really wants buildup and extra chemicals in their hair?
What are the Benefits of "No Poo" ?
Keep in mind that your hair will have to get used to this and may take a week or two. When you first start you are cleansing your hair of the extra junk from these shampoos! Once you eliminate those you can look forward to :
- Hair that is much less oily
- More manageable hair
- Healthier hair
- Hair that will grow faster
- Hair with more body
- Less frizz
- Great for all hair types
- Great and SAFE on color treated hair
- Fewer washing's
- Actually clean hair
- No chemicals
- Saving tons of money on shampoo and conditioner products
How do you "No Poo" ?
There are several methods I have heard about, but here is my plan :
You will need (the basics) :
- Baking soda
- Vinegar (either white or cider depending on your hair type.See above)
- Spray bottle
- Jar/container for baking soda
Additional for deep conditioning:
1)Put a decent amount (quarter to half-dollar size) of baking soda in the palm of your hand. Add water until it forms a paste like substance and massage into roots. You can leave this on while you continue your shower. After the mixture feels "slick" in your hair you can rinse it out. The baking soda mixture only needs to be applied to the roots.
2)After you rise your hair add your vinegar. In a squirt bottle mix your vinegar and water. I will be using 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Squirt this on your hair, finish your shower, then rinse. It is easy as that.
3)To deep condition hair I use coconut oil. I have been using this for quite some time now and love it! If you plan to use the deep conditioning method focus on the middle and ends of hair. You don't want to put a ton of oil at your scalp. Apply pure coconut oil to hair and leave on for as long as you would like. One hour is ideal, but most of us don't have an extra hour to condition our hair! I say a few minutes before your shower. Rise out well then apply your baking soda as you would in step 1. In addition to the deep conditioner a tiny (dime size) amount of coconut oil can be used as frizz control! Don't over do it though!
Keep in mind there are several ways to do this and today is day one for me! I plan to keep you updated each week on this method with plenty of pictures. I think that visuals are needed for this so you can see how hair will change through the process. Below are two pictures from my first "No Poo" cleansing. This was 24 hours after the first "No Poo"! Not too bad!
Check back for updates on how well this works!! Happy Thursday!
Xoxo,
